It’s the Fourth of July and news stories on the ground are about as light as Union Jack flags. Granted, Sarah Palin left folks with a real humdinger to consider over the beer cooler this weekend, considerably upping the ante in the absurd-Republican-governor-presser sweepstakes. Switching from self congratulation by way of sports analogy to bitter renunciations of her enemies, she sounded downright Nixonian, as one friend observed.

Elsewhere in the news, the headlines from the District are nearly as WTF:

>> How do you say Creigh Deeds’s name? How could the answer be anything other than “crawdads”?
>> This violinist made a violin out of a baseball bat! That’s so America. America, and a little bit Austria.
>> Tomato flu, suck.
>> “Dumpster Diver Snoozes, Gets Hauled to Landfill” — no improving on that. Freedom’s just another word for freegan hauled to the landfill.

There’s never going to be a more appropriate day to expand upon today’s news in DC barbecue: Washington Business Journal reporter and DCist theater critic Missy Frederick reports that Chelsea-based Hill Country is opening a second location in the District. And I’ll tell you what — it’s not bad. Must’ve gone by the weekend it opened in Chelsea, and I definitely detected the theme — the Two Towers of Texas, Austin and Lockhart, easily my favorite eating destinations in the Lone Star State, or the world. The only question that still sits with me is: Why offer “lean” and “moist” brisket? What does that even mean? Fans of Texas barbecue know that brisket is slow-smoked with an inch-thick layer of fat on top; it is as God intended it to be. Does “lean” mean that they (God forbid) trim the fat before smoking? I can only assume that it means a half-pound portion instead of a full pound. In any event, this Fourth means freedom, liberty, fireworks — but next year we get all that with a side of Elgin sausage.